Studies of the Principles of Flotation by Life Jackets [Summary]

Abstract

During 1943-5 Macintosh & Pask (1957 carried out trials of life jackets for the Royal Air Force, culminating in the development of the Aircrew 'Mae West'. In April 1962 the British Standards Institution, having decided to prepare a standard for life jackets, arranged a demonstration of the performance of as many garments as possible in still water.Life jackets can be divided into 6 main groups according to the type of buoyant medium used:(1) Inherent: Bulky, reliable, little maintenance required.(2) Oral inflation: Compact, cheap, must be inflated before required.(3) Gas inflation: Compact, dearer, can be inflated under water. (4) Automatic inflation: Good protection for one immersion.(5) Part inherent, part oral inflation: Best compromise for small boats. (6) Part inherent, part gas inflation: More expensive than (5).